British Council awards 13 grants under wow Bangladesh 2025–26

The British Council has awarded 13 grants under WOW – Women of the World Bangladesh 2025–26, supporting three regional WOW chapters and 10 artist-led commissions across the country.

The British Council said the selected interdisciplinary projects will address themes including gender equality, climate justice, technology, heritage and public space, highlighting the role of arts and culture in social change.

WOW – Women of the World is a global movement that uses arts and culture to support a gender-equal world. In Bangladesh, WOW began with divisional chapters in 2017 and culminated in a national festival in Dhaka in 2019. The WOW festival began in the UK in 2010 and was founded by Jude Kelly.

Since 2016, the British Council has partnered with the WOW Foundation to deliver programmes internationally, placing arts and culture at the centre of conversations on gender equality, agency and representation.

For the 2025–26 cycle, two open calls invited proposals from artists, cultural practitioners and arts organisations from Bangladesh and the UK. Following a selection process, the 13 grants were awarded for projects to be developed and delivered throughout the year, the British Council said.

Stephen Forbes, British Council country director in Bangladesh, said: "Congratulations to all the WOW grantees this year, who have demonstrated their dedication and talent in showing how arts, culture and community-led innovation can inspire new ways of thinking about gender equality, climate justice and the futures we want to build together. We are delighted to partner with the WOW Foundation to support these artists and arts organisations as they challenge norms, amplify underrepresented voices and open pathways toward a more inclusive, equitable and hopeful future for Bangladesh."

Among the chapter projects, Shadhona and Nrittoshilpi Foundation Bangladesh will bring feminist writing to the stage, while COTAKE's ecofeminist initiative links women's empowerment with climate resilience, heritage and artificial intelligence, the British Council said. In Bandarban, Green Milieu will lead a youth-driven programme celebrating Indigenous creativity.

Under the commissions category, projects include Alyesha Choudhury's community-led climate initiative Sowing Seeds; experimental theatre and multimedia work by Spardha Independent Theatre Collective, HerStory Foundation, Palash Bhattacharjee and Saiqa Shabnam Chowdhury; and Jennifer Reid's The Women's Bioscope, which reimagines the traditional bioscope to amplify displaced women's voices, the British Council said.

Other commissions include NINAD's project on harassment and silence in daily life, and an eight-month public engagement programme by the Center for Astronomy, Space Science and Astrophysics (IUB) focusing on women's participation in astronomy through women-led dark-sky observation camps. Saiqa Iqbal Meghna and Suvro Sovon Chowdhury will explore gender-inclusive urban spaces, while Sharmillie Rahman's curatorial project examines identity in digital systems, the British Council added.